Nothing's Ever Easy
by Bebedora
Summary: Sometimes nothing is easy. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, life just kicks you in the ass. Sometimes...you need to be pushed to your limit to realize what was in front of you all along. Squall and Selphie friendship fic. [ONESHOT]


Nothing's Ever Easy

 _-For Layla Evercrest and Summoner Luna-_

"Selphie!"

Commander Squall Leonhart turned just in time to see his tiny Lieutenant fall to the ground, her giant nunchaku clattering to the cobblestone Dollet street. He had only seconds to dash to her side and drag her out of sight as the second sniper shot rang out. He hissed in pain as the slug tore through his thigh. Not letting it slow him down, he wasted no time in throwing her over his shoulder and took off down the dimly lit alley. His wounded leg protested at her weight—as miniscule as it was. Lionheart's tip scraped over the stones as he stumbled away from danger.

"Owww…Squall…"

He ran as fast as his injury would allow, ignoring the gnawing pain in his leg as he darted in and out of alcoves and backstreets. The sound of the footsteps of their pursuers showed no signs of quieting. Their screams echoed off the high walls of the buildings as they ran.

"Hang on, Selphie." He could feel her warm blood begin to soak through his uniform coat. He knew he had to get her to safety fast or she was likely to bleed out.

" 'M tryin'…" Her voice was shaky as her fingers dug feebly into his back. He could tell her strength was quickly leaving her. "W-wait…my weapon…"

"We've got to leave it!"

She didn't answer him as he arms fell limp against his back.

Squall tore around a corner, spying an open door. Where it led, he hadn't a clue. But it would give them a fighting chance to elude the enemy. The building seemed to be abandoned at first look, but he was taught to believe that looks could be deceiving. He had to make a fast decision.

" _Where the fuck did they go?"_

" _SeeD scum can't get away from us…we'll find you, pigs!"_

The voices echoed off the buildings, chasing them like phantoms. Squall knew he didn't have long to make his choice—flee or hide. Hopefully he could conceal both he and Selphie safely until the danger passed.

 _Hopefully_ he could keep her alive.

Squall bolted for the door, dashing inside and slamming it shut behind them as the footsteps chasing after them rounded the corner.

He hoped they were dumb enough not to notice.

As carefully as he could, he shifted Selphie down off of his back, hissing as his wounded thigh muscle tensed. Her tiny body slipped to the floor, and she grunted in pain.

"Squall…I…"

"Don't talk!" His voice was an urgent whisper. He didn't know how close the enemy was.

"It really hurts, Sq—"

Squall planted his palm firmly over her lips and brought his own face close to hers. He didn't think he had ever spoken so softly in his life. "Quiet! They're right outside!"

Her eyes fluttered shut as she sighed.

Squall sat silently on his haunches, his hand plastered over Selphie's mouth. His trained ears tried to pick out any disturbance in the ambient noise of the alley, any indication that their pursuers were on to their location.

" _You go that way!"_

Footsteps came closer. They skidded to a halt inches from their hiding place, the shadow of the figure visible underneath the rickety door. The young Commander held his breath and mentally willed Selphie to stay quiet.

The man outside paced slowly, stopping at the semi-blacked out window. The dying light of the evening trickled through cracks in the panes. Squall could just barely make out the man's face, his eyes shielded by his hand while he tried to peer inside through the grimy glass. The SeeD backed himself up as far as he could, making sure he was out of any tiny beam of light that might threaten to give away their position.

Selphie stirred and let out a quiet moan. He increased the pressure slightly over her mouth, hoping she would get the hint. The breath coming from her nose tickled his fingers as he noticed how shallow it had become.

The combatant outside grumbled and swore as he backed away from the window. A quick moment later he was gone, his footfalls echoing down the deserted alleyway.

Squall hesitantly let out the breath he was holding. Turning his attention to his comrade for just a moment, he tentatively began to remove his hand from her face. "Listen to me," his voice was low and stern. "You can't make a peep. I need to go make sure he's gone."

Selphie cracked her eyes open for a split second and nodded feebly. She brought her hand up to her upper chest, where the bullet had entered her body. As she tried to apply pressure, she screwed her eyes shut but did not make a sound.

Satisfied that she would cooperate, Squall rose, wincing as his wounded leg moved. He reached down to touch his pants, quickly finding his fingers soaked in blood. As he walked towards the door, he could feel the crimson liquid squishing in his boot.

Pushing himself flat against the wall, he craned his neck to see out of the thin space between the door and the door frame. From his vantage point, even though it was a small viewing area, he could tell that the enemy was no longer present. Scanning the area for a minute more, he finally decided that they were relatively out of danger and returned to Selphie's side.

The setting sun was quickly wicking away any and all light he needed to see. The room they were in seemed to be some sort of storage area, and the only window was the one currently blacked out by muck coating the glass. He knew he couldn't risk activating a flare to help him see, so he would have to assess his counterpart fast.

The stench of blood—belonging to both of them—was starting to permeate the room.

He moved her hands aside, taken aback by the amount of blood that had stained her uniform. Carefully unbuttoning her jacket, he pushed the layers aside to expose a hole in her undershirt, just under and to the right of her left shoulder.

Relieved that the bullet had missed any major organs, he moved in closer to inspect the area. The entry wound was ugly; the projectile seemed to have gone in at a strange angle. Even though the bullet didn't look like it had hit her artery, the blood output was still significant. In the waning light of the sunset, he could barely make out the glint of metal embedded just below her skin. He prodded carefully at the wound with his gloved finger, hoping he wasn't introducing too many contaminants into her system. The slug was accessible, but it was still a risky venture. Knowing he could never risk trying to remove it in their current situation—diminishing light, unclean conditions and danger possibly still lurking around the corner—he decided they needed to move.

"Owww, Squall…that hurts!"

He scowled and ignored her complaint. "Listen, the bullet is lodged in the muscle of your shoulder. I'm confident I can remove it, but not here. We need to move to a safer location. Rendezvous is in nineteen hours and I intend to make it on time."

Selphie sighed. "I don't know if I can."

Squall helped her to her feet. "Yes you can—and you will. You're SeeD."

The tiny Lieutenant whimpered as Squall tried to get her moving. Her feet dragged on the dusty warehouse floor. Her body felt limp in his grasp, and droplets of blood splattered on the tiles as they began to move. He struggled to hold onto both her and his weapon.

The Commander knew he needed to tend to the injury sooner rather than later.

"Come on, Selphie. All we need to do is get to the outskirts of town. It's not that far."

She didn't respond as she allowed herself to be dragged to the door.

Squall cracked the heavy door open just enough to peer outside. The dusk would provide sufficient cover for their escape, but also posed a problem. He couldn't risk using a flare to aid in their getaway and possibly alert their enemies to their whereabouts.

He calculated they had less than twenty minutes of daylight left. Normally, it would be no problem for them both to make the jaunt to the city limits with time to spare, even with a bullet in his leg. But, Selphie's condition made the situation parameters change. He wasn't sure if they would arrive at relative safety before night fell.

And that would seriously jeopardize them. Squall didn't like to be a sitting duck.

"Alright, we're moving."

Squall nudged the door open with his shoulder and stepped out into the dark alley. There was an eerie silence to the area, and he didn't like it. The sooner they made it out of the city, the better.

Selphie's small feet stumbled next to his own as they moved, her head bobbing as she struggled to keep it looking forward.

Quickly remembering the map of Dollet he had committed to memory, he made note of a landmark visible in the distance at the end of the corridor. He knew that was their way out—and he was relieved when it took them further away from city center with each step. At least they were on the right side of the town.

"We're less than half a mile from the town boundary. There's back passageways linking this entire area together—it's the industrial precinct. We'll be able to move pretty much undetected."

"Good…'cause I don't think I can fight…" Selphie quietly gagged. "…and I feel like I'm gonna puke."

"Don't you dare throw up on my boots."

"Then…you'd better mov—"

Squall had mere seconds to pull back before Selphie vomited on the cobblestones. He hoped she didn't expect him to comfort her.

After she had emptied her stomach, she stood as upright as she could and wiped her mouth on her uniform sleeve. "Wooo…I feel a little better now. My shoulder really hurts, though."

"Your body is more than likely going into shock from blood loss and physical trauma. We need to get out of the city quickly." He paused before continuing. "Are you able to continue?"

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "I'm not going to…let you down."

Squall just grunted and pulled her along. Within several minutes, they had arrived at the outer wall of the city, able to avoid any contact with the townsfolk. But, his relief soon turned to annoyance when he saw that there seemed to be two nefarious-looking men talking to the gate guards. He wasn't positive they were the attackers, but he didn't want to accidentally find out.

He knelt in the darkness, his thigh screaming out as the muscles flexed. Selphie slowly followed suit, allowing herself to be eased down to the ground. Squinting in the darkness that now enveloped them, Squall started to try and find an alternate route out of the town.

As they hid behind some shipping crates, Selphie slumped against him with a tired sigh and she began to shiver.

Squall began to worry—it had to be at least seventy-five degrees outside. The threat of shock was becoming all too real for Selphie. He turned to her, trying to hide his concern.

"I'm going to go try and find a way over the wall. Stay here—and be quiet." He unholstered her sidearm and put it in her hand. "Don't use this unless it's your last resort."

Selphie managed a weak SeeD salute. "Yes, Sir."

Using the cover of darkness, moved out from behind the boxes and slunk along the wall that separated them from freedom. The industrial part of town was old and not very kept up—and Squall hoped he could use that to his advantage. As he moved along the wall, he kept his ears open to the sounds of the night. Local birds and insects sang in the dim moonlight, but he was relieved not to hear human noise.

It seemed the Dollet factories only operated in the daytime, and all their employees had long since gone home.

He kept moving, looking back to Selphie's position every few moments to make sure she was still out of sight and safe. Moving forward, his boots crunched on fallen stones and he looked up to find a crack in the wall.

 _How cliché._

Squall inspected the fissure, finding it just large enough for him to fit through with some effort. For his counterpart, it would be no problem. He silently thanked the ineptness of the city planning of the Dukedom for their shoddy upkeep of their defenses.

Quickly getting back to Selphie, he hauled her to her feet and quietly guided her to their escape access. He pushed her through first, ignoring her hisses of pain as she moved through the narrow hole. Once she was safely on the outside, he handed his weapon to her, grimacing as her fading strength caused her to drop it to the ground.

He was thankful it fell in the grass—not only to muffle the sound, but to protect the integrity of his prized gunblade.

She followed soon after, collapsing to the earth beneath her feet with an exhausted billow. Selphie moaned slightly and put her hand over her wound. The Commander squeezed through the crevice, biting back the urge to groan as his wounded leg scraped against the rough broken stones.

Finally out of the city, he took a moment to get his bearings. Looking up at the stars, he quickly triangulated where they were in regards to their rendezvous location. He scanned the horizon as best he could in the darkness and located the old Galbadian army bunker that served as the first of several landmarks on the path to their rendezvous, just as the last of the sun's light fell below the land.

Darkness completely enveloped them. The lights from the city, almost non-existent due to the height of the wall, didn't help one bit. Squinting to help himself see, he barely made out an object in the distance. A house.

He had to take another risk.

It was the only building he could see, and as far as he could tell, it was dark.

Dark meant unoccupied—he hoped.

"C'mon. We need to move." He extended his hand to Selphie.

She stared up at him with weary eyes, blood spattered across her cheeks. Offering her hand out to meet his, she slowly inched up off the wall.

"Squall…"

He didn't want to admit it, but she looked so small and helpless. He knew deep down she was a warrior, one of the best SeeD operatives the force had. But looking at her in the dark Dollet night, her arm hanging loosely at her side and her complexion getting paler by the minute—he couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

She would never want anyone to see her like this.

He quickly snapped himself out of his thoughts. They didn't have time for this.

"If we don't move now, someone might come outside looking for us. And I don't want to get caught by the wrong people."

She silently nodded allowed herself to be led away.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Squall had never been so relieved in his life.

The small farmhouse looked completely abandoned. The first-floor windows were boarded, the door locked with a padlock. Not undetermined by the lock, he dragged his comrade around the side of the home to find a storm cellar.

An unlocked storm cellar.

Using Lionheart to pry open the doors, he managed to get both him and Selphie down into the basement with no problems. Once the doors were closed again, he finally felt comfortable lighting a chemical flare.

Within seconds, the space was illuminated by a green glow. The cellar was filled with dusty boxes and covered furniture. For a split second, he wondered where the inhabitants had gone to leave their belongings behind.

"You stay here. I'm going to scout the house before we move forward."

Selphie held her bloody thumb up with a weak smile. "Whatever you say, _Commander._ "

Grumbling at her use of his official title, he rolled his eyes and made his way up the rickety stairs, leaving his Lieutenant in the darkness.

A quick sweep of the home resulted in justifying his earlier conclusion—it was deserted. From the amount of dust on the surfaces, however, he speculated it hadn't been for very long—perhaps less than six months. A bowl of desiccated fruit sat on the kitchen table, children's toys lay scattered on the living room floor.

The family had no doubt left in a hurry.

In a moment of uncharacteristic panic, he hoped they hadn't stumbled onto a property that had been stricken by disease.

Clearing his thoughts, he reminded himself that there had been no warning placards on the doors, no caution tape pointing out any contamination. More than likely, he told himself, the inhabitants had been forced to leave—perhaps for defaulting on their mortgage.

After making sure the second floor was also empty, he went back to retrieve Selphie. She lay right where he had left her, her breathing shallow. Kneeling next to her, he shook her gently to wake her up. "The house is secure, there's no one here."

She sighed tiredly. "I'm not feelin' too good…

"I know. Let's get upstairs—there's a bed with clean linens—and I'll treat your wound." He hauled her to her feet, a small whimper falling from her lips. He truly did feel bad that she had been injured in the line of duty, but he knew he had to keep professional. If he let his emotions tumble into the situation, they could both be put in unnecessary jeopardy.

"I'm kinda scared…" Her voice was shaky as he silently nudged her up the stairs.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

For how tiny Selphie was, she sure landed on a bed like a ton of bricks.

She cried out as she hit the mattress, immediately cradling her left arm across her body.

Squall hated to cause her more pain, but he knew that uniform jacket had to come off. Leaning forward, he eased her up, despite her protests.

"Squall, careful!" She tried to push him away.

"Your coat needs to come off if I'm going to fix you up. Quit whining." He pulled her arms out of the sleeves and cast the clothing aside. "There, that wasn't so bad."

"Says you. You don't have a gaping hole in your body."

Squall scowled and pointed to his thigh. Selphie's eyes bulged and her mouth hung open in shock.

"You got hit? How bad is it? Why didn't you tell me? " She tried to sit up to inspect his leg.

The Commander pushed her back. "Yes I got hit, the bullet went right through and I didn't tell you because it wasn't relevant. Your injury is more severe. Besides, I needed to get us to safety, gunshot or no gunshot."

Selphie looked down at his bleeding leg. "Gee…thanks, Squall."

"No need to thank me. It's my duty as Commander to get my team to safety, regardless of any injury I may have sustained." He moved from the bedside and pulled the drapes closed. The quickly dimming light of the chemical flare barely illuminated the room. "I saw some candles in a hutch at the end of the hall, I'll be right back."

"Hurry, I don't like the dark."

Squall rolled his eyes as he left the room. Moments later, he returned with two pillar candles and a box of matches. The candlelight lit up the room instantly, and he was thankful the drapes were heavy. That's all he needed was their light to raise suspicion from the city.

Quickly rummaging through the cargo pockets of his uniform pants, he found his small medical kit. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now. He took out a tiny flask of sterile water, a tweezers and some gauze, setting them on the bed next to his comrade.

Selphie's eyes twinkled with mischief in the flickering light. "You do realize you're going to have to take my shirt off to treat my wound, right?"

Squall felt his cheeks flush with heat. "Of course, I'm not an idiot."

"Wanna make a bet on if I'm wearing a bra or not?"

"Shut up, Selphie. Sit up for a second; I'm going to have to cut your undershirt off."

 _She had better be wearing one._

A slice of his pocketknife later, the Commander was very relieved to see a pink lace bra on her body. But he knew that in order to treat the wound on her shoulder—the very wound that was obscured partially by her bra strap—that the lingerie would have to come off.

"I've gotta…you know."

"Take off my bra? Squall, you devil."

"Quit screwing around and be a professional. I need to get that bullet out before you go septic. We're both soldiers."

She blew the hair out of her eyes with a puff and sat forward once again so he could undo the clasp. As the bra fell to her lap, he quickly moved it aside, along with the bloodied undershirt. He eased her back onto the mattress and tried not to let his eyes wander to her chest.

It's not that he _wanted_ to look, he thought of Selphie as his sister—of sorts. But he knew he needed to have his eyes in that region to do his work, and his stomach started to turn. He steeled himself with a deep breath and concentrated on the task at hand.

"I'm not going to lie—this is going to hurt."

"I know…"

"I'll be as quick as I can." His cheeks felt hot again.

Selphie giggled feebly. "You're so cute when you're nervous."

"Shut up, alright? Save your strength." He poured some antiseptic on a piece of gauze and wiped it over her shoulder. Selphie hissed in pain. Grabbing for the tweezers, he dabbed at all its surfaces with the gauze square before readying it millimeters above her body. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let's do this."

Breaking eye contact, Squall wasted no time in digging the implement into the wound. Selphie bit her lips together and hissed. A pained moan emanated from her throat, but she did not scream.

Squall licked his dry lips and dug into the muscle where her arm connected to her torso. He tried to block out her groans so he could work as efficiently as possible without being emotionally compromised.

Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't cold-hearted. He cared about his friends.

He just knew when he needed to be professional.

"Almost got it." He felt the slug between the prongs of the tweezers and he squeezed them shut. Seconds later he lifted it from her body.

Selphie let out a huge sigh of relief and unclenched her jaw. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. After a long moment, she cracked her eyes open and pointed at the tweezers.

"Chuck that little bastard."

"I'm going to keep it for evidence. Garden might be able to test it ballistic ally and get a positive ID on the suspect."

"Well, it still doesn't mean I can't hate it."

Squall dropped the bullet into a small pouch and pocketed it. "You can't hate it, it's not a person."

"Yes I can…" She stuck her tongue out at him. "My shoulder is killing me."

Squall wiped the area with more of the antiseptic before depositing the bottle on the bedside table. "Hang on, I can help. I have a cure spell."

She looked at him slyly. "I thought the Duke said no magic? That he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to us?"

"A good warrior is always prepared."

Selphie chuckled. "I thought you never broke the rules."

"I make exceptions when absurd requests can endanger our safety."

"Sure, whatever. I think you just like being a bad boy every once and a while."

"Just hold still."

The young Commander closed his eyes in concentration. A soft blue glow enveloped his hands, then moved to encapsulate his entire body. Moments later, it transferred to Selphie, who immediately sighed with relief.

"That's _waaaaaaaay_ better. Thanks, Squall." Her eyes began to close as he pulled the blankets up over her exposed torso.

Before he knew it, she was fast asleep, soft snores coming from her parted lips. He stared at her for a moment, in awe of how brave she had been. The pain must have been unimaginable, and yet she never cried out.

He silently marveled at the fact that she might look small and meek, but she was way more courageous than most males in SeeD, and certainly tougher and meaner if she had to be. He surely didn't want to be on the receiving end of her Nunchaku.

As he watched her rest, he remembered back to their days at Matron's orphanage, how she always seemed to be without fear. She would jump off the playset that Cid had built for them, play in the shed they were forbidden to enter and always be first to enter the "haunted" ocean cave near the shoreline.

In their time together in SeeD, she had always shown incredible energy and optimism, even when the deck was hopelessly stacked against them, she was a ray of light—the sunshine that brightened everyone's spirits and encouraged everyone to remember the good things.

Noticing her neck was bent at a strange angle; he reached over and gently adjusted her pillow. The movement woke her, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry."

The tiny SeeD smiled. "S'okay."

"You should go back to sleep. We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow."

She tried to sit up more, grimacing when she put weight on her left arm. "N-no…I'm awake now."

"Whatever." Squall busied himself with cleaning his tweezers. He could feel Selphie's eyes on him.

 _She had better not want to 'just talk'._

 _Why is she staring at me?_

"What?" Squall huffed in annoyance.

"Nothin'. Just watching you."

"Why?"

"What else am I going to do?"

"Sleep."

Selphie scoffed. "I can sleep when I'm dead."

Squall ignored her and rubbed at his aching thigh. He knew he had to treat his own wound soon to prevent infection. The bleeding had stopped and he was lucky that the bullet had just gone through the top layer of muscle. He was thankful that it had not gone deeper, or he likely would have bled out in minutes from arterial damage.

"Leg hurts, huh?"

Squall huffed. "Of course it hurts."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes." He wished she would just go back to sleep.

They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Selphie spoke up again. "What do you think happened back there?"

After the Galbadians were forced out before the last Sorceress War, Dollet had regained its freedom and had remained peaceful towards SeeD. The Duke had always pledged to help SeeD in whatever they needed, and frequently asked for their help to deal with certain goings-on in his community. Not once since the war had they ever felt uneasy or in danger when visiting the Dukedom.

Until today.

Selphie continued. "I mean, one minute we were talking with those townsfolk, and the next minute we're being shot at."

"My money's on the resistance faction we were here to dig up."

"But ambush us in broad daylight like that? They must be a special kind of stupid to mess with SeeD."

"Maybe. But they're definitely way more of a threat than anyone could have imagined. The Duke thought they were all bark and no bite."

Selphie's voice was getting softer as sleep threatened to overtake her. "Pssshhh—they don't bite that hard."

"Says the woman who just had a bullet dug out of her chest…"

"They can't hurt me." She shifted her weight on the bed and grimaced. "Ow…"

"Mmmm-hmmm." The Commander raised an eyebrow.

"It's cold in here." Selphie pulled the blanket up to her chin with her good arm.

"There's no electricity, which means no heat. And I'm not lighting a fire, either. We don't want to give away our position."

"Cuddle with me, then?" Selphie grinned wickedly.

Squall slapped his hand against his forehead. "Just shut up and conserve your strength."

"Pleeeeease, Squally?" She batted her eyelashes.

"Go. To. Sleep." He turned away to look out the window with a humph. He could just barely make out the guard post at the city gate. It seemed that no one was looking for them—yet.

"Whatever, Commander No-fun."

Squall refused to look back at her and waited for her to drift off.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Squall had a dilemma.

He needed to treat his leg wound. In order to do so, he needed to remove his pants—with Selphie in the room.

Yes, he could move to another area of the house for privacy, but he couldn't see outside from any other window. And he didn't want to leave them vulnerable to attack.

He moved closer to his counterpart for a moment, taking note of her deep rhythmic breathing. Her eyes fluttered beneath their lids. Confident that she was deep asleep, he decided it would be safe to remove his trousers without prying—and loudmouthed—eyes looking on.

He toed off his boots, the sock on his injured leg soaked with blood. Glancing one more time at Selphie, he slipped off his uniform pants, hissing as the fabric brushed against his wound. His comrade stirred in the bed at the sound. Squall froze, mortified. Here he was, quite literally, with his pants down.

Selphie yawned and turned her head, never opening her eyes.

He waited, holding the waistband of his pants just above the knee, for his Lieutenant to drift back to sleep. After a long moment, she settled and appeared to be resting once again.

Letting out a quiet breath, he gingerly removed his pants. After draping them over the arm of the chair, he went to work inspecting his wounds.

The bullet had passed through the meat of his thigh, missing all the major arteries and bones. Scabs were already starting to form on the edges of both the entry and exit wounds. He was relieved that the bleeding seemed to slow to a tiny trickle.

Dabbing the remaining antiseptic solution on another piece of gauze, he cleaned the holes thoroughly. It stung like a son-of-a-bitch, but he bit his lip and tried not to hiss as the medicine did its job. After he was satisfied the wounds had been cleansed, he taped a square of gauze over each area. With a sigh, he placed the supplies back in this med kit.

Both he and Selphie's wounds were adequately treated for the situation; there was no sign of the combatants that had been trailing them, and no indication of any search party in the fields. A normal person would have been relieved to be out of danger—but he was SeeD. The Commander, no less.

Instead of relaxing, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

 _Did the Duke know about the attack?_

 _How would SeeD brass react to their team being attacked?_

 _Would tensions rise between the Dukedom and Garden?_

 _Were they really safe in this spot?_

Squall pinched the bridge of his nose and willed the budding headache to go away. There was nothing he could do right now anyway. Selphie needed to rest if they were going to have any chance of rendezvous tomorrow at noon. SeeD officials could hash everything out later—with his input of course—but for right now, there was nothing to do but sit and wait.

And he hated waiting.

Pulling his pants and boots back on, he thought about if he could have done anything different to make the outcome of their situation change. Sure, he could blame himself for not being more vigilant in the alley, not noticing subtle clues that may have been apparent had he just paid closer attention.

Truth was, he didn't want anyone else to be blamed—even if he knew deep down that neither he or Selphie were at fault. The Duke had failed them, not the other way around. SeeD had done their job—or at least tried to until they were ambushed.

Still, he felt responsible. Selphie had been first in the line of fire, when he felt it should have been him. He found himself trying to figure out why they had attacked her first. Even though they were both well-known from the Sorceress War, he stuck out much bigger in a crowd. Everyone knew who he was, thanks in part to the permanent reminder on his forehead.

Whatever the reasons for everything that happened, he knew he shouldn't be dwelling on the past. It was over and done with, and he needed to concentrate on getting them through the night safely.

It still didn't mean he could shut his brain off—and it was exhausting.

His eyes began to flutter shut and soon the room went dark.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

" _Squall?"_

He felt a light tapping on his hand, and he jolted awake, grabbing Lionheart in a flurry.

"Whoa, cowboy!" Selphie held up her hands in surrender. "No need to panic, it's just little 'ol me!"

The Commander took a moment to catch his breath. He hated being startled awake like that.

 _Startled awake?_

 _I fell asleep?_

 _I fell asleep…_

He looked out the cracks in the drapes to see the sun's light just beginning to peek over the horizon.

"I fell asleep." His voice was monotone and defeated.

He was instantly mad at himself for failing. He had fallen asleep when he was supposed to be protecting them. He growled and slammed his fist down on the nightstand.

"Squall, don't get mad. Nothing happened!"

"It was stupid of me to let my guard down."

Selphie leaned forward and tried to look him in the eyes. "Did they find us?"

"No."

"Are we dead?"

"…no." He looked down at his boots.

"See? Then it's fine! I'm fine! You're fine!" She waved her hands around dramatically, then winced as her shoulder moved too much."

"Still…"

"Squall, you saved me." She looked down at her bandaged chest. "That shot could have killed me. If it weren't for you removing that bullet, I might have bled out."

"I did what I was trained to do."

"Don't be so modest. You're a hero."

Squall rolled his eyes. Selphie sounded like Laguna—and he hated it. "Don't call me that."

"But you are…"

"Whatever. Just drop it."

She slumped back against the pillows with a grunt and mumbled under her breath. "Fine."

After a long moment of silence, Squall rose and grabbed her discarded garments and tossed them at her. "You need to get dressed. We're leaving soon."

Selphie stared at the clothes on her lap. "Squall…you know I can't move my arm very well. Help me?" She held up the bra.

The young Commander felt like he was going to throw up. He knew she was doing it on purpose—making him uncomfortable. He wasn't going to fall for her tricks.

"No."

"Please? My arm really hurts." She tried to slip the strap over her injured shoulder and hissed in pain. "And I won't be able to reach around and clasp it."

 _Dammit._

"Lean forward." He averted his eyes from her naked chest. Guiding her injured arm through the bra strap, he did the same with the other before trying to clasp the back. His fingers fumbled on the tiny fastener and he grumbled in annoyance.

 _Hyne, these things are way harder to get on than to take off…_

"Not a whole lot of practice putting a bra on, eh Commander?" Selphie giggled mischievously.

"Shut up, Selphie." He finally connected the two sides of fabric and moved away, grabbing her uniform jacket and throwing it at her. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this—ever."

The tiny SeeD made a zipping motion over her lips with her fingers before she shrugged her coat on.

"I mean it. I'll court martial you if you do."

"No you won't." She stuck out her tongue. "But I promise I won't tell, I swear."

Squall moved to the window without replying. He moved the drapes open slightly so he could see, but not be seen. The activity at the city gate was normal. That didn't mean the enemy still wasn't looking for them, but for the moment their situation seemed to be less dire.

He didn't know whether or not to be relieved or incredibly angry at the Duke for not trying to figure out what happened.

Then again, there was a distinct possibility that he didn't even know.

The area they had been canvassing when they were attacked was pretty far removed from the metropolitan areas of Dollet, and quite a few of the residents there liked to stay under the radar of the Duke and his cronies.

Selphie rustled on the bed, grabbing his attention away from the window.

"I'm hungry. Can we eat before we go? Pretty _pleeeeease_?"

"Fine, but make it quick." He looked at his watch. "We only have seven hours to get to the rendezvous and we're going to be slowed down by both our injuries." He dug a protein bar out of his cargo pockets and handed it to her.

"Ugh, puke-a-tronic." Selphie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "These things are gross."

Squall snatched the food back from her. "Fine then, be hungry."

"N-no! I'll eat it!" Her stomach grumbled audibly as she accepted the bar back. She opened the foil wrapper, sniffed the contents and crossed her eyes before taking a hesitant bite. "Blecchh! How can they expect SeeD's to survive on this crap?"

"You do what you have to do."

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"No."

"Why not?" She took another bite and grabbed for the small canteen on the nightstand.

"Because they taste horrible." The tiniest smirk crossed his lips.

She threw the remaining bar at him. "Jerk."

"That's insubordination you know, calling your superior officer names."

"Sorry, _Sir_!" She sat up ramrod straight and saluted him.

"Whatever. Now let's get out of here."

Selphie swung her legs over the side of the bed and put her feet on the floor. Using the night-table as support, she gingerly stood on wobbling legs. A quick moment later, her legs gave out and she tumbled to ground. Squall moved to help her up, but she brushed him off.

"Wait, I'm fine, really! Just give me a minute to get my land legs back." She pulled herself up with her good arm and sat on the edge of the bed once more.

"You're not fine…but we do have to get out of here. Can you walk if I assist you?"

"Carry me?" She put on the sweetest face ever and batted her eyelashes.

"You're walking."

"You're no fun." She blew a raspberry at him.

"This isn't supposed to be _fun_."

The tiny SeeD playfully slapped at his leg. "Oh, lighten up!"

"Selphie, this is serious. We were almost assassinated. Someone wanted SeeD out of here. And in case you haven't noticed, we're still on the run."

Her expression became somber. "I know. I was just trying to…"

"Just forget it, alright? Come on." He leaned down and draped her good arm over his shoulder. Steadying her with an arm around the waist, he pulled her to her feet. As they began to move towards the door, he heard her inhale deeply.

"You smell good."

"Selphie! This is not the time!"

"What? I was just pointing out the obvious! What is that scent, anyway? A present from Sir Laguna, perhaps? It smells expensive."

Squall grumbled and tried to rationalize leaving her in Dollet. "Hyne, don't you ever quit? I said knock it off!" He grabbed his Gunblade as they left the room.

"Okay, geez! You're so grumpy in the morning!"

They made it down the stairs and into the kitchen without incident—or any more sassy remarks. Squall had decided they needed to exit the home from the back door to avoid being spotted by anyone who might be looking in their direction. The rendezvous point was west anyway, far away from the house.

Knowing the door was loosely padlocked shut, he tried to use his shoulder as a ram. After a few tries, he realized he would not be able to break it down—he would need to shoot through the lock.

"Move back, I need to shoot through the door."

Selphie's eyes bulged. "Won't they hear it in the city? I mean, we're still pretty close."

Squall pulled a small device from his pocket and attached it to his weapon. He fired a silenced shot. "Nope."

"Cool! I didn't know that thing could be silenced!" Selphie winked at him in the dimly lit kitchen. "You just gained an entirely new level of badassery!"

"Whatever." He pushed the smoking door open, the destroyed padlock falling to the ground in pieces. He extended a hand to her and she draped her arm over his shoulder once more. "Let's move. We need to get as far away from the city as possible before it gets any brighter outside."

As they made their way away from the house, Selphie started to sing about trains.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

They had been walking for hours.

Squall looked at his watch, and for the first time today, was actually worried they wouldn't make their meet-up. Selphie had been able to pick up the pace shortly after they were out of sight of the city fortifications, but they were still slowed down by both of their medical conditions. Even though he had treated his wound, the young Commander still had a definite limp and Selphie was slower than usual. After all, she had lost quite a bit of blood the night before.

Now walking on her own, Selphie had been annoying him for ages. Whether it was singing, humming or telling stupid jokes—she sure knew how to get under a guy's skin. He had told her to be quiet. He had threatened her with military action if she didn't stop.

She just kept smiling and singing—and Squall tried to remind himself that leaving her in the forest tied to a tree would probably look bad for him.

"Hey Squall, can I ask you a question?"

"No."

"C'mon, please? I'm bored." She trudged through the underbrush.

He huffed. "Fine. You can ask, but I can't guarantee that I'll answer."

She sidled up next to him, cradling her left arm close to her body. "So...how does it feel to have Sir Laguna as a father?"

Squall picked up his walking speed. "No dice, Selphie. I'm not playing."

"Why not? It's a perfectly legit question!"

"I really don't think my family life is something to discuss in the middle of the forest—or anytime, for that matter."

She pouted. "I was just curious. I didn't have parents, you know…"

"Neither did I!"

 _Up until last year._

 _Damn Laguna…_

 _He's such a bumbling idiot._

"You know, Squall—there are a lot of people in Garden who would give their right arm to have parents…or even a _parent._ We weren't the only orphans of the first Sorceress War." Her tone was suddenly serious.

Her words struck a nerve—and he hated it.

He knew he was in an incredible position. Not only did he actually have a father, but he was the President of Esthar. He could be reaping the benefits of a meaningful personal and professional relationship. And he also knew that there were a lot of people who probably thought he was a complete moron for ignoring his only living relative.

And sometimes he didn't even know why he did it.

Sure, he was mad at Laguna for keeping the information from him for so long. After all, the man had known about his heritage the first time they met on the Ragnarok—and he had said nothing. Laguna had claimed it was because he didn't want to stress Squall out more, seeing as that he was on his way to fight Ultimecia.

Truth be told, Squall pretty much figured it was because he was a chicken.

But at the root of it all, at night when he was alone in his dark room or sitting quietly outside where no one could bother him—he thought about the what if's.

What if he and Laguna could become close?

What if there could be some sort of bond between them?

What if…he could have a father?

Selphie's meek voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"You guys went to Balamb, and I was sent to T-Garden. Of course, I needed to wait until it was constructed, so I went to a girls' home for a while. When I finally got there, I tried to tell myself it was an adventure, that it would be fun." She sighed and kicked a rock out of her way. "I signed up for every activity I could think of, every committee, every social group…"

"Selphie, this really isn't necessary. You don't have to tell me all of this."

"I want to. It might do me good—I've never told anyone this stuff before."

 _Do you want me to feel honored?_

 _I guess…_

… _maybe I do._

 _A little._

"Everyone always thinks I'm the chipper one, the girl who is the life of the party and never gets sad." She stopped and looked down at her feet. "Truth is, every night, I used to cry myself to sleep because the only thing I ever wanted—I knew I would never have."

Squall just wanted her to shut up. He didn't want to hear any more. Sure, he felt bad that she had grown up without parents—they all had. Each and every one of them had known some bit of time where they were nobody, and had no one to call family.

There had been lucky ones like Zell, who had found loving families to take them in and make it forever. But most of the orphans dropped on Garden's doorstep were lonely, neglected children with no place else to go. The cities didn't want them living on the streets, and the local governments couldn't do anything to help even if they could. The war had tapped all resources almost completely dry.

"…I used to cry into my pillow so my roommate wouldn't hear me. Sometimes, I'd try and imagine what it would have been like to have a mom and dad. Sure, Matron and Cid were kind of in that role, but it ended when we were shipped off." She started walking again. "You're pretty lucky, Squall. You've been given a second chance."

The young Commander had never heard his friend talk like this before. She was right—she was supposed to be the bubbly, bright ray of sunshine that everyone always expected. And here she was, as melancholy as him.

He wanted to answer her nicely. He wanted to be able to let her know it was alright to feel that way, and that even though she more than likely would never know who her birth parents were, there were still people in the world who loved her.

But—he just wasn't capable of that sort of reply.

"Whatever."

Selphie covertly wiped a tear from her cheek, and within seconds, was her old silly self again. She skipped along the path until she was side-by-side with him. "Yeah, whatever, right? The past is vamoose! Buh-bye, see ya!"

He heard her words, the tone in her voice that was trying to let him know that it was okay if he didn't answer her the way she wanted him to. After all, he figured she knew damn well who she was dealing with—and how he reacted to 'emotional' situations.

It still didn't mean her story didn't hit home.

He definitely had a lot of thinking to do.

"We never did get to go back for my Nunchaku."

"What?" Once again, he had been caught daydreaming and hadn't quite heard her.

"My weapon…we left it in the alley."

"It would have been too risky to go back for it, you know that."

"I know." She pouted slightly. "I'm gonna miss her, though. I mean, it wasn't my Strange Vision or anything, but it still meant a lot to me."

 _Tell me about it._

 _If I ever lost one of my blades, even an old, outdated one…_

"I'm…sorry we couldn't retrieve it."

"Me too." Selphie began to whistle. "But there's always more in the 'ol arsenal, right?"

"Always."

Squall tightened his grip on the hilt of Lionheart.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

 **Three Weeks Later**

"Hey, Squall! How's the leg?"

Commander Leonhart strode into the common area of the SeeD barracks. Selphie sat, book in hand, on one of the plush couches. He had a large box balanced on his outstretched hands.

"My leg is fine, thank you. Doctor Kadowaki gave me a clean bill of health two weeks ago, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot." She smiled sheepishly before pointing at the parcel. "Ooooh, what's that? Is it for me?" She clapped her hands excitedly in front of her body.

Squall wished she would calm down.

"Yes, it's for you. But you can't have it until you behave like an adult."

Her expression instantly became serious and she sat straight up, hands in her lap. "I'm adulting now, see?"

"I guess so." He handed her the box, never bothering to sit.

"Can I open it?"

"I just gave it to you…what do you think?"

She screeched and tore at the thin string fastening the package together. Within seconds, her jubilation went full throttle. Tossing away the protective wrapping, she unveiled a brand-new set of nunchaku. The silver chain glistened in the sunlight cascading into the room, the red handles glittered with specks of gold, just like her old one.

"Squall! I…what is this for?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "I…felt bad about you having to leave your other one behind. So I replaced it for you."

She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. He stiffened at the contact, and did not reciprocate the embrace. After a long moment, she finally let go and stood before him, admiring her new weapon.

"I don't know what to say."

"You? Speechless? Now, that's a first." He had to stifle a smirk.

She grinned softly. "Really, Squall. Thank you—for everything."

This time, the Commander couldn't hold back a small smile from his lips. "Don't mention it."

She turned the nunchaku over and over in her hands. "So, where did you get this, anyway? The only place I know that can do this kind of work is in Esth—"

Squall raised a knowing eyebrow at her.

"You went all the way to Esthar? For me?"

"Not just for you. I needed to have a long talk with—someone."

She nodded silently, and Squall knew she understood.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

 _A/N:_

 _Well, I'm back to the FFVIII fandom...for now, anyway. This idea was in the "vault" for a long time, and it took two friends peer pressuring me to light a fire under my ass. I hope everyone enjoyed, and I promise I've got plenty more ideas for our Fated Children._

 _-B_


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